CT WATCHDOG: Oil coops not a bad idea

Unlike many of us who foolishly spend more time comparing gasoline prices than heating oil prices (which can vary by 30 percent or more), Tony Lynch of Lyme is being proactive.

He asked me recently what I thought about joining an oil coop.

"With the heating season coming and heating oil prices stuck at stubbornly high prices relative to the drop in crude oil prices, I am considering joining Pinergy or Citizen's Oil Coop and was wondering if you have had any complaints about them since you last updated your article on Jan. 30, 2010," he wrote me.

I did an update with both the state Consumer Protection Department and with the Better Business Bureau. Consumer protection had no complaints against either. The Better Business Bureau had no complaints against Citizen's Oil but I was unable to find a listing on BBB.org for Pinergy.

I also talked with Mark Hutson, president of the West Hartford-based Citizen's Oil Coop, which has been in business for 25 years. It was launched in 1981 by the Connecticut Citizen Action group as a way to offer its "members quality, full-service heating oil at a fair price."

Now let me give you a warning, Citizen's oil is not the cheapest. If you want the least expensive oil, you have to shop around and pay on delivery and hire your own service company. But be careful, it's a cutthroat business, and some companies give you a discount on the first delivery and then fleece you after that.

However, Hutson insists that his customers pay 25 to 30 cents less per gallon that the average statewide price for full-service oil. The co-op only provides oil through full-service companies.

The co-op serves all 169 towns in Connecticut through a dozen heating oil companies. It has about 3,500 members. It costs $25 to join, $15 if you are 55 or older. There is an initial $10 application fee.

CAR DESTROYING RODENTS

I am not a vegetarian, but would be if I had to kill what I ate. I even break for skunks. But after having two of my cars' electrical systems chewed up my mice, I am more than happy to kill the little rodents.

The second time was in September when the dreaded "check engine light" came on in my 2010 Honda Pilot. No big deal, I thought, since it was still under warranty.

I took the car to Hoffman Honda in Avon, where I discovered it was not a minor matter. Mechanic Steve Moreau checked his diagnostic tool and found that one of the sensors, a crucial one impacting the catalytic converter, was shot.

He popped the hood and to my surprise found a nice mice nest on top of the manifold and the remains of a chewed wire dangling off the sensor. It would have been a minor problem, were it not for the fact that the wire went under the manifold, requiring several hours of work as the top of the engine had to be removed.

So what makes our vehicles attractive to mice and other rodents? Heat and smell. Subramani warns customers to clean all food out of cars, especially nuts and dog food. Also, anything that smells sweet like vanilla air fresheners.